Check out my new translation!
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It had only been an instant, but when Victor Wang exited the Serenitea Pot, he realized something tremendous had occurred outside.
In the center of the ravine, a massive crater had torn open across what had once been relatively flat ground.
On the far side of the crater stood a completely stunned Arataki Itto, along with Kuki Shinobu, Yanfei, and the unconscious fake Yelan.
On the near side were Xiao, brows tightly furrowed, Paimon with worry written all over her face, and Lumine—her clothes dirty, her spirit drained, and a trail of blood still on her lips.
Lumine held the Serenitea Pot tightly in her arms. The fake Victor Wang was nowhere to be seen.
Unease stirred in Victor Wang's mind as he asked, "What happened…"
Paimon's voice trembled with tears. "That jerk… that fake Victor blew himself up! He tried to destroy the Serenitea Pot and take you with it. Lumine protected the Serenitea Pot, but she got caught in the explosion…"
"Sorry…"
Lumine shook her head. "It's fine now. I was on guard the whole time… I just didn't expect your copy to be that strong."
"…"
Lumine put away the Serenitea Pot, wiped the blood from her lips, and braced herself. "You already confirmed Itto, Yanfei, and Shinobu, right?"
"Yeah."
"And that Yelan… what's with her? And what she said about… Zhiqiong being ambushed?"
"Yelan is an employee of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. She secretly helped us when we fought the giant serpent. But I'm sure the one here is a copy. As for what she claimed about Zhiqiong being attacked… I don't know whether she was lying or if my copy did it…"
"If Zhiqiong's really here, then she's in danger. We have to find her, and we have to find a way out. Let's question that fake Yelan first."
A deep crack—seven or eight meters wide—cut straight across the crater, giving some idea of just how powerful the fake Victor Wang's self-destruction had been…
Lumine wanted to glide across, but pain twisted her face.
Victor Wang noticed immediately and hurriedly constructed a path of Geo.
Watching this scene made Xiao sigh with guilt. If he hadn't insisted on coming here, would they all have avoided this?
Another thought struck him. In a flash step quicker than Yanfei's group could react, he reached Yelan's side. After carefully examining her, he warned the others, "Don't come any closer. She's already awake."
"So easily discovered… worthy of the Conqueror of Demons…" The fake Yelan suddenly opened her eyes. Ignoring the blood still flowing from her wounds, she forced herself to stand. Then, glancing at the chasm created by the fake Victor, she said flippantly, "Looks like nobody died after all. What a waste."
"What do you know?"
"I don't know much more than you… Though I want to say that, the truth is I know a little more. But don't worry, I won't tell you any of it."
"You're not joking, so my next strike will kill you."
"Heh, so harsh. Too bad I can't trigger another self-destruction. Can't use two opposing attributes at once like that—no energy left to resist. Such a shame… But believe me, I'll definitely be back."
Before Xiao's spear could reach her, Yelan's body dissolved into a burst of water and vanished.
Arataki Itto asked in confusion, "She says she'll be back—does that mean—"
Victor Wang cut him off sharply. "No! Don't think about it. Each person's copy can only appear once. She's tricking us into using this space's rules to resurrect her."
"This space's rules?"
With so many people gathered, and too many stray thoughts that could interfere with one another, Victor Wang had only one choice—explain openly. "This space responds to what we think internally, but almost always in negative ways. For example: I wanted to find Lumine, so Lumine appeared—but so did a fake me beside her. I wanted to find Zhiqiong, and although she hasn't appeared yet, someone brought terrible news about her."
"So that explains why when I wanted to find the Fantastic Compass, it did show up—but it was so huge I couldn't even carry it!"
"We also saw the Yaksha we'd been searching for. But he turned out to be a copy… cough cough…"
"Lumine, you rest a bit first! Let me talk!" Paimon grabbed her anxiously.
Lumine refused. "No. We haven't found Zhiqiong or the exit. I can't rest yet."
Seeing this pained Victor Wang deeply. He confessed further, "Don't worry about that… Once I find Zhiqiong, I can take all of you out. And I already have a lead on where she is. Leave it to me."
At that, even Yanfei's group—kept in the dark this whole time—and even Xiao grew hesitant. Paimon bluntly asked, "Lumine's teleportation can't get out, Xiao's adeptal techniques can't get out, but you can get out?"
"I can." Victor Wang repeated with absolute certainty, then added apologetically, "Itto, Kuki Shinobu, Yanfei—sorry. I couldn't take you out until everyone was gathered, so I had to keep it hidden."
Arataki Itto waved it off. "That's not a crime! You'll get us out eventually anyway, right?!"
Yanfei nodded. "Exactly. It's fine. Now tell us about that lead."
"Hmm… I need to ask why Lumine and Xiao came here in the first place."
At that, Paimon explained:
"Some time ago, Zhiqiong told us that several Yaksha had disappeared here. We searched The Chasm together, remember?
"We didn't find anything, so we dug deeper. We learned that five hundred years ago, Khaenri'ah's monsters invaded this place, and a fierce Yaksha fought in that battle.
"So we asked Xiao again, and he finally decided to come check it out. But then we got trapped here for months."
"Months?" Arataki Itto interrupted. "I feel like we only arrived a day ago. Paimon, you're just hungry!"
Paimon counted on her fingers. "Even if not months… it's been at least twenty-something days!"
Lumine shook her head. "I only feel like three to five days passed… The flow of time is wrong here. We don't feel hunger or thirst, we can't see the sun or stars, and our watches don't work… Space and time are both distorted…"
Everyone fell into deep thought, the mood dropping sharply.
After Victor Wang reassured Xiao repeatedly, Xiao continued, "I came here searching for a Yaksha named 'Bosacius.' He was the eldest of the five Yaksha. The other three are gone, and his body was never found… I did see him here, even if it was only a phantom. I can feel he's here."
"That fits perfectly."
Victor Wang explained seriously, "Zhiqiong is searching for a Yaksha. You're searching for a Yaksha. Yanfei is searching for the Fantastic Compass lost in one of the old wars. And Yelan was most likely searching for something related to that same war. That's your common point. That's why we didn't meet elsewhere but ended up meeting here."
"You mean…"
"This place might be the intersection of everyone's wishes. Everything about Bosacius, the Fantastic Compass, and the things Yelan is chasing are probably here. Yelan and Zhiqiong are hidden behind one of the transformed portals."
It was a reasonable explanation—enough to anchor Yelan and Zhiqiong clearly in everyone's mind. If they followed the portals one by one, no more surprises should occur… We must find them.
The group split into two teams: one accompanied Lumine to rest briefly, while the other continued adjusting the Fantastic Compass and opening new portals.
Information about Boyang, Bosacius, the Fantastic Compass, and the ancient battle appeared one after another.
Finally, through the last variation of the portals, the mysterious space—unable to violate its own rules any longer—revealed the space where Yelan and Zhiqiong were trapped.